I'm so glad this amalgamation of the editors' and writers' work of re/unlearning Helen Gurley Brown's 1962 Sex and the Single Girl is alive and waiting for readers. The source text, while titillating for its time, is very much outdated for our time so these writers expand past the white, heteronormative, cisgendered, ablebodied, monogamous way of sex and relationships clogging up the information pipeline for single women. These essays do more than just advise you to be sexy for the sake of a man. Female pleasure, queer dating, transitioning, polyamory, celibacy, IVF, not getting married, not having kids - it tackles so much and is definitely worth your time.
Hindsight is 20/20, and looking back at the RiotGrrl movement of the 90s reveals as many flaws as it does strengths - it was a safe space for women tackling issues of sexuality, violence, and anger during a political period when teenage girl autonomy was the monster lurking under the bed of puritanical America. But only a safe space predominately for girls of a certain type (white, cisgender, straight.) Despite the shortcomings, the DIY culture it sparked continued on, and the doors it opened for women to scream their hearts out into microphones still reverberates today in bands that break the mold that Riotgrrl created.
What's the difference between loneliness and solitude? What cruelties, or kindnesses are born out of the inevitable loneliness of living? This bleak and beautiful book tries to address those questions and more. Radtke bares it all in illustrations as compelling as her thoughts. It's an instruction manual for being human and a guidebook for this time.
This book moves beyond the spectacle of the 'cult' in order to desimplify and expand our understanding of the cult phenomenon. From Jonestown to Crossfit to Instagram influencers, Montell looks at the linguistic tools utilized to appeal to and shape ones thinking. An accessible and fascinating book full of information that proves useful in times like these, when so many voices are calling for followers.
This book is as diverse and intersectional as the disability community itself, with stories of joy, humor, challenges and frustrations told from a wide range of perspectives. Reading this anthology has changed the way I see and experience the world around me. I have no doubt that these pieces will deeply move and remain with you.
When I was 13 a cool older girl at school gave me a silk screened patch that said "RIOT NOT DIET". I promptly sewed it onto my backpack and never looked back. Reading this book is the literary equivalent of a cool older girl giving you that patch.
Everyone needs to read this, particularly all the people who believe they don't need to. Trust me, you do.
Want to convince your relatives that universal healthcare, free high quality education, and a robust social safety net are a good thing without them thinking you're a pinko commie? Hand them this.
I thought this was a concise, accessible read. If you already own a dog-eared copy of "Are Prisons Obsolete?" or have a pen pal through Black and Pink, then this book will be preaching to the choir. However, if you have no idea what those things are but do think that there must be a better way of handling social problems than just sending the police in, this book is a great place to start.
